Fit Tip of the Month - Sleep Deficit and Work Productivity

Many people know the
importance of sleep. Lack of sleep is linked to higher cortisol levels,
can lead to weight gain and even increase your risk for certain disease and
conditions. Though it seems obvious that a sleep deficit would not allow
you to perform at your best, only recently has the medical world really
recognized the importance of adequate sleep for overall health and wellbeing.

Jim Maas, a pioneer in
sleep research and former chair of the psychology department at Cornell
University has spent the last 40 years trying to convince companies that
workers who are sleep deprived can be very costly to the company.
Similar to poor eating and exercise habits, lack of sleep can put employees at
risk for hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, Type 2 diabetes and
more. Maas states “then there are issues of mental and
emotional health. All of that translates into higher insurance costs.”
Sleep deprivation can also cause employees to have a lack of creativity, being
less alert and even grumpy. Maas thinks that by encouraging employees to
sleep more, companies could help contain the ever increasing health care costs.

He believes more sleep
could increase productivity, job satisfaction and
creativity. Maas is actually the one who coined the term ‘power
nap’ when working as a consultant for IBM 38 years ago. This was
also the time that ‘power breakfasts and power lunches’ were emerging. He
thought ‘power naps’ would be more beneficial. He found that a
10-15 minute power nap could give employees the pick-up they need without
interrupting their sleep at night. This was also a much better
solution than over consuming caffeine. Though a nap in the middle
of the day is unrealistic for most, Maas does suggest the following
to ensure quality sleep at night: Get a high coil count mattress, invest
in a great pillow, cut out all nicotine, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and
alcohol within three hours of bedtime and set the thermometer at 65-67 degrees.
Electronics can interfere with your sleep, therefore put masking tape over
electronic lights and avoid using laptop and iPads close to
bedtime. Calm your mind with pre-sleep routine that include a hot
bath, music, meditation, yoga or light reading. Journaling your feelings can
help get sleep disrupting thoughts out of your head.

If you are curious if
your lack of logging hours on the pillow is turning into sleep deprivation, pay
attention to how long it takes you to fall asleep. Are you out before you
can even say good night to your family or as soon as your head hits
the pillow on a consistent basis? Then you are most likely sleep
deprived. “It takes about 20 minutes for the well-rested person to fall
asleep,” states Maas. Trying to make-up sleep is similar to just
eating well and exercising on the weekends, it just simply does not work.
Just as with exercise and food choices, consistency is the key to being well
rested.

MOVE OF THE MONTH

Single-leg Squat

This great unilateral exercise is a simple way to develop strength, balance and coordination. The ability to perform this simple exercise easily and gracefully will develop your stability and core strength and also help you prevent injury, and improve your sports performance.